Senate Bill 2530

    Florida Senate - 1998                                  SB 2530

    By Senator Holzendorf





    2-1822-98

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the confidentiality of

  3         records relating to internal audits conducted

  4         by insurance companies; providing an exemption

  5         from public records requirements for certain

  6         documents submitted to the Department of

  7         Insurance in connection with a voluntary

  8         internal evaluation or audit; providing for

  9         future legislative review and repeal; providing

10         a statement of public necessity; providing a

11         contingent effective date.

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13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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15         Section 1.  (1)  Any document prepared as a result of a

16  voluntary internal evaluation, review, assessment, audit, or

17  investigation conducted by or on behalf of any company

18  licensed or regulated under the Florida Insurance Code which

19  is submitted to the Department of Insurance is confidential

20  and exempt from section 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and

21  Section 24(a), Article I of the State Constitution.

22         (2)  This section is subject to the Open Government

23  Sunset Review Act of 1995 in accordance with section 119.15,

24  Florida Statutes, and is repealed on October 2, 2003, unless

25  reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the

26  Legislature before that date.

27         Section 2.  The Legislature finds that it is a public

28  necessity that the information voluntarily submitted to the

29  Department of Insurance by an insurance company for the

30  purpose of assessing and improving the company's compliance

31  with the Florida Insurance Code and with state and federal

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1998                                  SB 2530
    2-1822-98




  1  laws, rules, and orders be kept confidential and exempt from

  2  the public records law. The Legislature further finds that the

  3  public will benefit from incentives for insurance companies to

  4  identify and remedy noncompliance and that a limited

  5  protection against disclosure of certain information will

  6  encourage voluntary compliance and improve the quality of the

  7  insurance market and will not inhibit the regulatory authority

  8  of the Department of Insurance.

  9         Section 3.  This act shall take effect on the date

10  Senate Bill     , relating to self-evaluative audit documents,

11  or similar legislation becomes a law, and shall not take

12  effect if such legislation does not become a law.

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15                          SENATE SUMMARY

16    Provides an exemption from the public records law for
      records produced as a result of an internal audit
17    conducted by an insurance company. Provides for future
      review and repeal. Provides a statement of public
18    necessity.

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